Secrets of the Winter Spirits
by Schrodinger25
Summary: When Jack is attacked by the Wendigo, Sandy saves him and takes him to finally meet the other Guardians while he recovers. They also learn more about the other winter spirits that roam the Earth. Takes place before the events of the movie. Up for Adoption.
1. Encounter with the Wendigo

**Chapter One: Encounter with the Wendigo**

 **Summary:** When Jack is attacked by the Wendigo, Sandy saves him and takes him to finally meet the other Guardians while he recovers. They also learn more about the other winter spirits that roam the Earth. Takes place before the events of the movie.

 **This is also my first fanfiction (well the first one that I actually published) and I hope to update this regularly. This will also be posted on my Ao3 account, I'll update it with the link later, so that you guys can read it on either format that you prefer to read it on.**

 **The description of the Wendigo that I use is actually on the ROTG wikia page (through I don't know if it is just a fan page or if the actual author made this character or not, though I do think it's the former but either way, that's what I based the depiction of the Wendigo off of)( wiki/Wendigo ).**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Rise of the Guardians or any of the characters within that franchise, but I do own this story and whatever character I make to put into it (though there won't be many of those, so don't worry).**

 **But other than that, I do hope that you guys enjoy this story and I have many in mind to do after I finish this one, but what those are a secret. Thank you for reading this.**

 **Warning: This story mentions of Graphic Violence for at least the first chapter.**

* * *

It felt like his heart was going to come bursting out his chest as he stumbled over a tree root, knowing any mistakes would mean his life. A low growling laugh seeming to bounce off the trees, a noise that could make even the feared Pitch shiver. He was being played with, but he didn't care since that would mean that he was given some extra time to get a chance to become airborne, which he couldn't do while he was in this thick Maine wilderness. All he needed was a small clearing, hell he would even take just for the trees to lessen up a little. Anything.

He had heard about some people going missing in this area, blizzards sweeping in out of nowhere. Now he wasn't in full control over every winter weather phenomenon, no one truly was except for Mother Nature. However, there was a few spirits who had control over it like he did. Yuki-Onna being one, though he found that he could make some of her storms die down, even just a little. He noticed that he was getting stronger though, since each time he was able to do that a bit better each time, though he wasn't sure how much was her just humoring him.

By that point, she had been, and still is, one of the few spirits who was willing to talk to him or explain anything. She wasn't really a friend, barely an acquaintance, they probably would have been better friends if she didn't enjoy freezing people (but really when no one else wants to talk to you, you take what you can get, besides she was actually cool to talk too (pun intended)).

She was one of the scariest spirits he knew. So, it was understandable why he was startled when he asked her about the storms that seemed to appear out of nowhere along the border of the United States and Canada and she freaked out. Telling him that if he truly cared about his own well-being, and even if he didn't, that when those storms are happening to stay well away from those areas and not to even attempt to diminish them, unless he was well up in the sky hidden behind clouds if he couldn't help himself. Honestly, he had been rather lucky that he hadn't come across the wendigo before this point. It was the first time that Jack found a topic that she did not explain further, just leaving him with that warning before disappearing with a flurry of new snow.

From that moment he heeded their words, staying away from that area when there were sudden snow storms, going there when he absolutely had too. But then he had heard about people who either went missing or was found dead whenever there was ever a storm of that nature. Sometimes they were found frozen to death, or more disturbingly, the ones who weren't found like that. The humans could never tell if they were mauled on by some sorta animal or even another human, since the marks were clearly not from any animal they knew about. Jack had looked before and let's just say that he didn't need Pitch to get nightmares every time he absolutely needed to sleep for months afterword. It was easy to know why Yuki-Onna didn't want him to become like them. Jack didn't want to think about the ones who were never found. He eventually learned more about the Wendigo through books in those libraries that started to pop-up more and more in the late 19th century. There wasn't much, but what he did find wasn't pleasant. The Wendigo didn't seem to care whether his victims were the elderly or young, healthy or unhealthy, poor or rich. He didn't discriminate.

The one thing that Jack didn't realize was that he would go after spirits too, since all the books all described him as a cannibalistic-like monster who ate humans. This was even more so since Yuki-Onna gave him a pass as well, not realizing that was only because he was a winter spirit like herself, a child as well. So, several decades of this, her warning gradually loss as much impact as they once had.

That was how he came to the point where he was now, running for his life on a moonless night, the moon only peeking out every now and again through the clouds but not enough to be of any help.

There were no storms, no warning except for the growls that he was still hearing and the occasionally glimpses of brown fur, white, and this blue glow. Taking a chance, Jack glanced over his shoulder, trying to see if his stumble had costed him any distance between himself and the Wendigo.

Turning back around, he barely catched himself from running face first into a tree. Scrambling around it, Jack kept going, hoping that he hadn't just ruined any chance that he had at escaping. Sweat trickled down his face, freezing into a frost. It was almost hard to hear over the hammering going on in his chest.

It wasn't just growls behind him–the putrid stench of death, the wind howling in his ear begging for him to take flight, and desperation crept ever closer. He tried pick up his pace, which wasn't much. It wasn't hard to imagine himself becoming like one of those corpses, ripped apart bit by bit. Alive throughout most of it.

Focusing so much on just running, it was almost impossible to full-on stop when hellish red eyes appeared in front of him, being a good ten feet above the ground. Glowing in the darkness of the night, the only thing taking away from them was the icy-blue glow where his heart should have been, which explained what the glow from earlier was. This was his first good look at the beast, and what he saw caused him to lose any breath he had had as a shiver ran down his spine, despite the fact that he couldn't feel like cold. The creature in front of him was unlike anything he had ever laid eyes on before, the closest being this a mix between a deer and a man, and that wasn't even that close. His eyes trailed up as he couldn't help but freeze. It was a wonder how the.… the thing…. could even stand with how emaciated it was, seeing as you could see all of its joints and even some bones where the skin had rotted away, it was wonder how it was even able to stand, much less run. Gagging as stench burned his nose and made his eyes water, the need to empty his stomach growing as he saw the decaying pieces of flesh and organs dangling. It was wearing a rib cage as a chest plate and a helmet made from a deer skull, paling further at the sight of small human skulls, what were obviously from children, dangling from a string that was tied to the antlers. Some flesh and hair still left on one of them. It had a cruel smirk across its face, showing off just how sharp its teeth were.

He just wanted to go home, with his lake and his trees. Where the wind would wrap him up in the closest thing to hug that they could do and sing him to sleep. He didn't want to be here anymore, he really didn't.

The dead leaves crunched on the ground in front of him, causing him to snap out of it. It was now only a few feet in front of him, instead of the several yards it had been what only seemed to be seconds ago. Jumping, Jack scrambled to turn to flee, slipping a little on leaves in the process. _When had It moved? Was I really not paying that much attention?_ Normally that would never have happened.

He only made it a few steps before searing pain erupted down his back, causing it to explode in his head with a blinding whiteness as he crashed to the ground. He vaguely noted that someone was screaming. _Who was that? Where they being attacked too?_ It took him a moment to realize that it was himself who was screaming. Desperately digging his hands into the soft soil, trying to get away as the shadow loomed over him, one hand still gripped tightly on his staff. Fighting the urge to curl up in a ball. Trembles racking through his body. A burning had set behind his eyes awhile ago, something warm and wet sliding down his cheeks, freezing along the way. _Oh god, oh god, oh god. Please, I just need a moment to be able to get away. I'll never bother the Easter Bunny again, Manny please._ He begged silently, but Manny stayed quiet as always. Hidden behind clouds like he didn't want to see him anymore. He probably didn't.

Jack cried out when he felt those razor-sharp claws sink into the flesh on his back once more, easily tearing his ruined sweatshirt and the flesh on his back again. He distantly mourned the loss of his sweater, it was one of the few things he owned. Struggling to get air, "p-please, let me go." He tried, hoping that maybe it would have mercy on him just this once. "I'll nev-never come here again or… or mess with yo-your storms… please." He didn't care that that would interfere with his spreading of snow, let one of the other winter spirits do it. Hell, Mother Nature could bring winter to this part of the world herself. He just wanted to go home.

Its warm breath huffed over the back of his neck in a mockery of a laugh, "now why would I do that?" Its voice seemed to echo off all the trees nearby, sounding almost like a broken record player that humans used to be so fond of. The effect was something that Yuri was fond of doing, but to actually have it done on you? It made his skin crawl even more than before. He couldn't remember the last time he had hurt like this. A clawed hand covered in red that glinted in what little light could get through the trees which had lessened in this part of the forest, his blood he distantly realized, appeared in front of him. Stopping what little progress he was making to get away from it. He could feel the warmth of it as it leaned over him. It was miracle that he had not thrown up yet, but he wasn't doubting that it might happen soon. "It's been awhile since I last had a taste of a winter spirit, normally they know better than to come into my territory. But I suppose that you didn't get that message, huh?" It spoke into his ear, Jack turning his face away from the creature, squeezing his eyes shut.

Was this how he was going to die? Slowly by a thing that would have fun doing it? With no friends, no family, no believers… no anyone? No one who would truly care whatever or not he lives or dies? Sure, the Wind would miss him, but they would get over it soon enough. Jack curl up slightly, drawing his hands back to cover his head, trying to push back the burning in his eyes, despite the fact that tears were already making tracks through the dirt on his face. It wasn't working very well, as his crying turned into full out sobbing.

Suddenly there was a piercing pain tearing through out his shoulder, as its teeth sliced through flesh and almost to the bone. It felt like it was trying to detach his arm from his body, wrenching another scream from his sore throat. His eyes snapping open. Instinctively, ice shooting out defensively around him. A shriek was heard above him, as the creature let go of him. Taking his chance, Jack shot more ice at it, as he realized that he had forgotten that he still had his staff in his panic. Scurrying away while he still could, a stabbing pain radiating all throughout himself. He grunted, determined to ignore it as well as the way that his vision swam in-and-out of focus.

He didn't even need to call for the Wind, as they quickly snatched him up as soon as he was free. Behind him, the Wendigo gave an angry snarl. It barely missed his ankle, its claws lightly grazing it instead. It stung, but in the grand scheme of things, it was nothing.

The Wind wrapped him up, doing their best to get him away both as quickly and gently as they could. They were furious with the Wendigo for harming their child, they wished that they could have been more help, but the trees kept getting in their way for them to really do much up until that moment.

The Wendigo howled in outrage at having both their meal _and_ entertainment taken away. No. Just no. That wouldn't do. No matter who Its victim is, no one can escape their wrath. No one is safe no matter how far you are. So, as it saw Jack becoming further and further, he raised his bow made of bone, and nocked one of his arrows. Drawing it back quickly and adjusting its aim, he let go

Of course, the boy's precious Wind attempted to steer the arrow away from his target, they only succeeded at making the hit an unlethal one. The shriek of surprise and pain was enough to satisfy him for now, knowing that the Wind would be better at throwing his arrows off course from this point on making the weapon relatively useless. The boy would be one of few to get away from him, but if he ever came here again or just outside his territory again, well let's just say what those corpses those humans found of their friends would look like they were models.

* * *

Jack could barely keep his eyes open, much less stay in the air. However, this wouldn't be the first time that he fell asleep in the Wind's arms, all he needed to do was to keep his staff in a position where it wouldn't fall out his hands as soon as his eyes slipped shut. He had definitely calmed down a lot more now since he was now several miles away from where he was attacked, he wasn't really sure where he was, just that he must be going further North since it was getting colder. He felt like weights were being tied on him and he just wanted to curl up in a ball, but the wind refused to let him down just yet.

Black spots were taking up most of his eyesight and everything was starting to spin. He rubbed his eyes with his free, trembling, hand, attempting to rub the tiredness away with little effect. He just wanted to sleep, why isn't the wind letting him down? He felt like he knew the answer why but for the life of him he couldn't remember what that reason was.

Why couldn't Sandy just leave him alone? He was trying to stay awake! His eyes were getting to be too heavy to keep open, the pain long since becoming numb some time ago, he couldn't remember who long though ago through. Keeping them open was sapping more of what little strength he had, so he let them stay close, fully trusting the Wind to get him safely to wherever they decided to take him, finally falling unconscious.

He didn't realize that he had let go of his staff as he did so.


	2. Saved

**Chapter Two:** Saved

 **Summary:** When Jack is attacked by the Wendigo, Sandy saves him and takes him to finally meet the other Guardians while he recovers. They also learn more about the other winter spirits that roam the Earth. Takes place before the movie.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Rise of the Guardians or any of the characters within that franchise, but I do own this story and whatever character I make to put into it (though there won't be many of those, so don't worry).**

 **Also, I updated the previous chapter, because I noticed that there were some grammar mistakes and hopefully I caught them all.**

 **I just want to thank you all for all of the amazing reviews, they really mean a lot. I hope that this chapter is just as enjoyable as the last and that me finishing this at 3 something in the morning hasn't affected my writing abilities very much.**

 **There are more things that I wanted to explain, but they would be easier to address in the next chapter. They aren't very important, so there's no need to worry.**

* * *

It was late, which was not unusual for Sandy. After all, his job was to deliver sweet dreams to all of the children of the world, and sometimes to give dreams to the stray spirit who needed a rest (well-deserved or not, everyone needed sleep whether they liked it or not).

He was just finishing his rounds in Newfoundland and was making his way into Quebec when something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Turning to face it fully, he saw that what he had seen was two things falling from the sky that were both roughly the same size. Drawing closer to get a better look, his eyes widen as he silently gasped, frozen in horror. One object was obviously a stick, with a hook at the end much like a shepherd's staff. He would recognize it anywhere, as it well known to belong to Jack Frost as it was never seen out of his hands. But it wasn't even near him now, it was a good several yards away from the other object was clearly not an object at all, but a person. The staff and stark white hair that seemed to glow in the contrast of the night sky, stray strands of moonlight seeming to point to him out, making it hard not to see him as well. All these things together making it clear that the person was the owner of the staff, that it was Jack Frost.

Sandy was only frozen for a few seconds, but in those seconds, Jack had become much closer to the ground. It was clear that he was unconscious for whatever reason, as he was making no attempt to grab his staff or even stall his inevitable meeting with the ground, he was motionless. Snapping back to himself, Sandy rushed to the aid of one of his few friends. The Wind seemed to propel for him and his wind towards Jack, wailing in his ears as they screamed for him to help their dear friend. He's been around for a long time, though not as long as the Wind, but he knew that they were alive just like any other spirit, even when many others didn't know this fact. They often assisted him with bringing his sand to sleeping children during storms and such. It was rare for the Wind to get attached to anyone like this, he knew Jack and the Wind were close, but not to this extent. He pushed that thought to the side, knowing he had time to think on it later.

Using his sand whips, he caught the boy's staff as the other whip transformed into a cloud of sand much like the one he was using. The Dreamsand taking most of the impact, cushioning his fall, sand billowing up around him as a result. If he wasn't asleep beforehand, he definitely was now.

Finally reaching the boy, all he could do was stare in horror. He was a mess of blood and dirt, it was to the point that you could no longer see the original blue of his sweatshirt. Some of the wounds on his back have already started icing over, slowing the bleeding to a point. Sandy contemplated taking the arrow out of his leg, deciding it was better to leave it alone. He would only cause the injury to get worse and for him to bleed out faster.

No, he needed proper medical care, as well as somewhere with plenty of snow, and he knew just where to go to get both. Grabbing Jack's staff from his Dreamsand and checking once again that Jack was secure, he took off towards the North Pole.

Sandy had first met him about fifty years after the boy's creation, well the boy was following him around for some time before that, too nervous to actually go up to him. It had made him sad that he was so scared, there was no reason that he knew of at the time for the behavior. So, whenever he knew the boy was nearby when he was doing his rounds, he would make sure that some of the Dreamsand would go by him, it wasn't until the second time he did that before Jack got too curious not to touch the sand. It was soon after that that Jack finally got enough courage to talk to him. It was easy to see why he acted that way, Sandy was one of the first spirits to actually want to interact with the poor boy! He was still a child, an immortal one, but still! On top of that, he had to figure out the hard way the ways of their world, Manny only ever telling him his name and any another spirit he came across only ever hurt him. Let's just say those spirits didn't have to wait long for either Sandy or Mother Nature, she hadn't known that nothing had been explained to him, to show up. He was still angry at Manny to this day, but there wasn't much he could do about him.

But either way, Sandy loved all of his talks with Jack, even if sometimes they often became one-sided, but Sandy enjoyed listening more anyways. Jack was also one of the few people who actually bothered to get Sandy's input in a conversation, always trying to make sure that he understood what he was saying. Sometimes they didn't talk, they would just sit side by side as Sandy worked. It was normally then that Jack would fall sleep. Sandy missed having someone to spend time with, after all the main people he talked to were the Guardians, and they were busy people too.

So, when Jack had showed up about a half a century ago, having learned sign language just so they would be able to talk to each other easier, he had been over the moon! Plus, the thing he enjoyed most was probably just the way the child lit up like a star every time he saw him made his day, even if it was one of the days that Jack couldn't sit on his cloud and had to bring winter to some part of the world, so they only waved at each other in passing.

Sandy wasn't going to fail in his job to protect the children of this world, which Jack very much fell under. Immortal or not. He also wasn't going to lose his friend. He wasn't.

Besides, he's been meaning to introduce Jack to the other Guardians anyways.

* * *

The North Pole was in its ever state of constant chaos, what with the Yetis making toys for Christmas and just generally making sure that the Pole stayed running, the elves doing their hardest to do the complete opposite of that, toys flying and moving around, and North either supervising or creating new toy designs. All of this being even more true, as December 25th was only three months away.

Phil had the job of being head of security for several centuries now and he was quite proud of his position, as it was a great honor to have this enormous task. Whether it was from protecting everything they stood for and have devoted their lives too from dangers such as beings like Pitch Black, who wanted to destroy all the Guardians in general, or from pesky winter spirits who made a game of whether or not he could break in without getting caught. Okay, it was just one winter spirit and Phil would never say it, but ever since Jack had found the Pole he had grown rather fond of him.

If it wasn't for the rule that children weren't allowed to go inside of the factory, then Phil would have let him in already, though the child would be under the strict supervision of him and the other Yetis. The kid had a love for mischief that was quite worrying and rather annoying, he was still finding glitter in his fur from when Jack had given him a present, only for it to turn out to be a glitter bomb. If he hadn't been doubled over in tears from laughter, Jack would have probably made it inside. On that note, he needed to discuss with Ray about how he could get the kid back for that.

When the kid wasn't trying to break in or pull pranks on them, him and the other Yetis who weren't busy, as well as some of the Elves, would play other games instead like hide and seek or they would tell the boy stories. Sometimes they could even manage to get a Jack to tell them a story of his own. It was also no surprise that Jack was able to understand them, being a winter spirit and all. He still tried to learn Yetish, but it hasn't been very successful. Amusing, yes. Successful, not so much. And just because he couldn't go into the factory, it didn't mean he wasn't technically not allowed to go anywhere else. Santoff Claussen was a very large place, having enough space for homes for all of the Yetis, Elves, and more. Phil and his wife, Natasha, have had Jack over for dinner many times, often with other Yetis joining in as well.

Phil stumbled backwards, having crashed into another Yeti, Greg, apparently having gotten lost in his thoughts again. He opened his mouth to offer a quick apology but closed it after he noticed that instead of telling him off like normally, Greg had not even paused after the collusion. He was rushing off in the direction of North's office where their boss was busy creating new toy designs for Christmas and was about to check his lists again.

Furrowing his brows, he began to head in the same direction, when he felt a furry hand on his shoulder. Looking over his shoulder, he saw that it was Tom, another member of the security for the Pole. He cut straight to the point, "It's Jack, he's hurt-"

Before Phil could react, North was already rushing past them, yelling orders to get a bed prepared in the Infirmary and medical supplies. Greg following close behind him. Not needing another word, Phil pushed past Tom to go after them. Trying to ignore how his heart constricted in his chest, it felt like someone was using it as a stress ball. _No, no, no, no, no…. he couldn't be hurt that bad, right?_

They reached the Globe room, to where some of the medical team had already arrived before they did. All the attention was being focused near one side of the room, near an open window. He couldn't get a clear view, due to North and his co-workers were blocking him from getting a clear view. Moving around them, while trying not to get in their ways, he managed to finally get a good look at Jack.

He was aware of the fact that there was talking going on around him, but he couldn't make out anything they were saying. All he could focus on was the small body on the stretcher made out of Dreamsand, clasping his hands over his head, as it seemed like the air was snapped out of the room. Everything becoming slightly blurred around the edges.

When they hurried out of the room towards the Infirmary, Phil made to follow again. Stopped once again, this time by a hand to his chest. Turning to see that Ray shake his head silently, taking his arm and leading him in the opposite direction. Normally he would have shoved the head away and continued doing what he was doing, but this wasn't normal and he recognized the fact that he was panicking. If he went with them, he would only get in the way. So, he let his friend tell him to sit in a chair, he was saying something else but all he could focus on was the image stuck in his head.

Once he calmed down, he would go and see how he was doing. He was a strong kid, he'll pull this and Phil would be able to get information on who had done…. _that_ …. to him. But for now all he could do was wait, and hope that he just wasn't lying to himself.


	3. Nicholas St North

Secrets of the Winter Spirits

 **Chapter Three:** Nicholas St. North

 **Summary:** When Jack is attacked by the Wendigo, Sandy saves him and takes him to finally meet the other Guardians while he recovers. They also learn more about the other winter spirits that roam the Earth. Takes place before the movie.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Rise of the Guardians or any of the characters within that franchise, but I do own this story and whatever character I make to put into it (though there won't be many of those, so don't worry).**

 **The things that I wanted to mention was that Jack really doesn't realize just how much he means to the few people he had became friends with, especially since most other spirits he has come across haven't been nearly as nice to him as they have been to him. He has really grown on Sandy, Phil and the other Yetis, Elves, Mother Nature, Yuki-Onna, most of the Baby Teeth, and more.**

 **I also wanted to mention that in this story that Jack is around 16 years old physically. Since in the books I have gathered that he is around 14-15 years old and in the movie he is said to be around 17 years old, so I decided to just make him 16.**

 **Also, unless the story is coming from the perspectives of those characters who speak that language, whenever they are near others who do not normally speak it or understand it (i.e. the Baby Tooth Fairies and the Yetis, maybe even the Wind and the Elves), it is going to be italicized. This will be more so that it's easier to see that a character is speaking another language. Of course if someone like Bunnymund, he wouldn't be able to understand the Fairies or the Yetis, so it would more so sound like gibberish to him and will be presented in that way. It will become clearer what I mean as the story progresses. Inner thoughts will also be italicized, but without the quotation marks.**

* * *

Music blared and the fire place, a fire roared, not that the owner of said room noticed much. Intent on his task of carving a new toy design for the children this year out of ice, through even if they weren't given out as gifts this year, then it would certainly be out for next Christmas. It was based off of one of the Toothina's fairies; a small one with a yellow feather on her head, as well as two mixed-matched eyes, one blue and one purple. The only problem she had was that her ability to sit still was almost was bad as her mother's, it was a good thing that he was used to going off ideas that had bounded to him whenever he went out, were it was rare for him to not get more than a glance at something. Each feather had been painstakingly carved out of ice, which still seemed short in comparison to how long it took just to make it where the wings were able to move and fly around in the air. If anything, it would at least make for a great gift for Toothina and the little fairy that had helped him. He was just finished the final detail, when the door crashed open with a loud _BANG_ , startling him enough that he accidently beheaded the fairy that he had tediously been working on for the past three weeks.

North cried out in dismay, staring down at the fairy. All that work and time now wasted. The Yeti who had barged in having a similar reaction, remembering the last time North had gone off on someone who had come into his office without knocking, breaking a piece that had took a few months to get everything working. "How many times have I said about knocking?!"

" _Sandy is here with Jack Frost, they need help, he's hur-"_ Everything came out in a mess as he tried to get the message across, obviously panicked.

He was cut off when North stood up from behind his desk, dropping his tools and the broken ice fairy, both no longer being on the forefront of his mind. There were more important matters to attend to now. "Lead me to them."

Greg nodded his head and rushed out of the office, North wasting to time to follow him. However, as soon as they stepped out, it became clear what direction they needed to go in order to get to them. As Elves and Yetis were all focused near the Globe room, some freaking out, while others were trying to help. North pushed past Greg, no longer needing him to show him where to go. While they hurried to the Globe Room, North realized that he didn't know which one of his visitors where hurt, through he pushed that thought aside too. He needed to focus and he was about to find out the answer to that question in a few seconds. Barking out orders to the Yetis to get a bed set in the Infirmary, as well as telling them to get medical supplies, though he knew that the medical staff were probably already doing that already. It didn't hurt to make sure just in case, one could never be too careful.

Finally, they made it to the Globe Room. A small crowd was already forming over near the windows that he kept opened not only for his fellow Guardians who weren't fond of using doors, as well as making sure the factory stayed cool enough for the Yetis to not become overheated while they worked. The closer he got to them, the more he was able to see, and the worse it appeared. Sandy was standing to the side, fidgeting on his feet and his hands. When he caught sight of North, the relief in his eyes was almost immediate, however worry still wore over him. North's frown deepened, there were few things that ever made the oldest Guardian worry in that way, and all of those were no-good.

The medical staff came rushing in at the moment, the Yetis who were already gathered around the bed of sand that Sandy had made moved out of the way to let the ones who knew what they were doing to take their places. It was in then that North got a good look at who was laying on it, his blue eyes widened as his mouth dropped open in horror. It was no wonder why Sandy was worried. It looked as if the boy, Jack Frost he recalled, had been mauled by a lion or something bigger, maybe a bear? That was quickly ruled out when he saw white arrow sticking out of his left calf. Scrapes and cuts covered his body as well as dirt and dead leaves. What, or rather who, could have done this to the boy? He knew that many other spirits weren't very fond of the young spirit, Bunny being one of them, but he didn't know any who would, or could have, attacked him in this manner.

Furrowing his brow, he watched for a few seconds to make sure that the physicians had everything under control. Over the years with running a toy factory as big as the North Pole, along with the elves just being their little mischievous selves, lead to them turning one of the old unused rooms into an actual infirmary that was stocked with medical supplies, some magical and some not. It was no surprise that they didn't need any directions or help in what they were doing for the most part. A bell ringing diverted his focus away from the Yetis to Sandy, who was shaking an elf, which was normally a sign that he had probably been trying to get his attention for a while. The small man was rapidly forming images above his head out of his sand, moving far too quickly for North to even begin to make out what he was saying, his wide eyes and the slight tremor in his arms made it obvious that he was panicking. "Sandy! Please go slower, so I can understand." North cut his old friend off, they were getting nowhere with this. Neither of noticed how some of Yetis seemed to have froze for a moment when they saw the arrow in the boy's leg up close, giving each other looks, before going back to work, the two Guardians too focused on each other.

Just as Sandy took a deep breath, trying to calm down enough to present his story, a Yeti came up to North. He pointed to Jack and then Sandy, before pointing to another part of the building. Sandy looked on as the Yeti spoke, not being able to make out what he was saying, as it all come out as "Ghrmmf hergmer lifgerd."

North translated what he had said easily enough, or at least summarized the general premise as to what the Yeti had just said, "Sandy, they need you to take Jack to infirmary as your sand is safer than putting him on stretcher. We can talk more after he is taken care of, yes?"

Sandy nodded, hurrying to follow them as they practically sprinted to where they needed to go. Making sure to be as gentle as he could to keep Jack from jostling too much during this whole process, a Yeti on the other side of Jack was keeping pressure on his wounds. He had lost enough blood as it was, he didn't need to lose anymore. North trailed after them quickly, glancing back once to make sure his other workers weren't freaking out anymore. It was then that he saw Phil moving towards them as if he was going to follow them, in a way that seemed like he wasn't completely away of what he was doing, but Ray stopped him from doing so. Ray caught his eye as he leads Phil away from them instead, shaking his head. The corners of North's mouth turned down even more, making a side note to ask how Phil seemed to know Jack, as well as sending one of Physicians to look at him as soon as they weren't needed anymore. With that note, he turned back around. They had a winter spirit to take care of, as well as figure out what exactly had happened to the poor boy.

* * *

The day had turned to night (or rather the closest thing to that considering that they were in the North Pole, leading closer and closer to winter, where it was being "night" for a few months) and Jack was now laying in one of the beds that took home in the infirmary. They had discussed about whether or not they should move him to one of the guest bedrooms or if they should keep him where he was, the latter being the one they ultimately decided on, as they would have the medical supplies nearby and it would be easier to watch him as well. The town side being that there wasn't as many windows as one of the potential guest rooms had, making it harder to let in some of the Artic cold for the winter spirit.

It took a few hours to patch up him up. The wounds on his back proven hard to stitch up, considering how ice kept trying to form as a type of protection, it got to the point that they had Sandy give him another douse of Dreamsand. After that it had gotten easier to fix his wounds, which wasn't saying much. Whatever creature of being had done this, must have had sunk its claws deep into his back. However, the bite was another matter entirely. It was clear that whoever had done this had tried to bite his arm off entirely, but something, maybe Jack, had managed to stop it just in time that the damage wasn't going to be permanent if it was taken care of properly. It was then that Sandy mentioned that the boy wasn't one to just rest, much less stay in one spot for more than half an hour if that. Being put on bedrest was going to drive the elemental insane. That had become clear almost as soon as Sandy had met the boy.

North nodded, taking the unsurprising news in. It wasn't new news that elementals had a bountiful amount of energy, after all, how else would they be able to bring the seasons all over the world? Despite all the negative things he had heard about this boy, most of his actions where simply accidents, misunderstandings, and the actions of bored child who was just trying to have fun. It always gave North amused whenever the Groundhog complained about how he kept messing with his shadow to trick him into seeing his shadow, among other things, such as dumping snow on him. He knew that even Bunny couldn't help but get a kick out of it too. North wondered how many spirits were kind to the boy whenever he wasn't with Sandy. Through from how the Yetis acted, especially Phil, it was clear that they all fond of him to carrying extents, even if it made him wonder when that had happened, since he had never heard anything about the child showing up at the Pole. He had always wanted to meet this spirit and now that he had seen him, besides being surprised by how young Jack was physically (from the descriptions he would have thought that the infamous Jack Frost would have been a full-grown man instead) as well as the state he had arrived in. It was with this thought that North finally made his decision, despite Christmas being so close. "Bah, he can stay as Pole. The Yetis can help look after him, it'd be like a break." It was with that that most of the Yetis groaned, causing North to chuckle. Sandy's face had lit up in a big grin that could rival Jack's on a good day. Sure, he could see that many things could go wrong with this, but Jack would finally have someone to look after him much better than he himself ever could, even if it until he was better, but still.

They both pulled their gazes back to the boy on the bed, Sandy shifting on his feet, he really needed to get back to his job. Sure, some kids could go with a dreamless night, but it was always night somewhere on this world where more children would be sleeping, and he had already been out of the field for about a full day now. Glancing at the one window in the room, then back at Jack, he sighed quietly. Catching North's attention, he tapped his wrist where he had made a watch and the image of children dreaming. He had already explained all that had happened and what he had known, which really wasn't much, but did give a location, while the Yetis were taking care of Jack and fixing him up. But still, he was reluctant to go.

Once more, neither noticed the worried looks that Yetis and even some of the Elves who had snuck in gave the white arrow.

North placed a large hand on his one of oldest friend's shoulder, "he'll be fine, Sandy. If anything happens, I shall call for you. Now go. Go give the children the dreams that they need."

Sandy stared into North's eyes, he knew that when his friend made a promise he did his best to stick to it, but he still wanted to make sure. He slowly nodded his head, stepping towards the windows before a thought accord to him. With his sand, he formed a present and a clock, then a snowflake, before finishing off with a question mark. Asking, " _Christmas is close, how are you going to be able to fully care for Jack as it gets closer?_ "

Stroking his beard, he searched his mind for a good solution. Sandy was right after all, even the Yetis would be busy and distracted. "Gunmhy?", a Yeti spoke from behind him.

North swiveled around, pointing at the Yeti, "Ah-hah! That's brilliant!" Grinning, he looked back at Sandy, throwing his arms in the air, "we can get Bunny to watch Jack! He isn't busy this time of year! Good, no? It would also help him to get to know Jack too! It's perfect!" Sandy wished he could speak just so that North could hear his groan, as he dragged a hand down his face. That was probably worse than any bad scenario he could think of happening at the Pole with just Jack, but then add in Aster? He lowered his hand, looking up at North's gleeful expression. He leaned down, "this will be good Sandy," he paused for dramatic effect, "I can feel it in my belly!"

Sandy resisted the urge to groan again, hoping he wasn't going to regret this, but did he really have any other choice? He looked away from North to Jack, walking over to his side silently instead of flying for once. He seemed so young and vulnerable, the bandages being visible on his shoulder, but Sandy knew that they went down further, as well as band-aids and steri-strips (butterfly-strips) covering a large amount of his skin from where he had gotten smaller scrapes and cuts from whatever, or whoever, had attacked him. The bed wasn't helping, since even through it was a hospital style bed, it still seemed to engulf the kid. He took a moment to watch his dream of him and some other children playing in the snow together.

He gave small a nod, as he poured some Dreamsand into a pouch and handing it to a slightly surprised North, looking at the pouch, then Jack, then back to North, hoping that he understood. Which he did, North took the pouch and placed it in his pocket, before padding said the pocket, "now go, we have him Sandy. You can always come by later, no?"

His mouth curved up into a small smile, before nodding once more before finally leaving, but not without sending one last glance at the winter spirit he had come to know. Trusting what North had said about him being safe.

* * *

It was just after midnight and just about everyone had gone to sleep, as some stray Yetis were still in the factory as they finished up on some toys they had been working on, wanting to make sure that they were absolutely perfect. A random elf or two who were still up for who knows what reason, maybe to search for cookies or some other pastry.

He made his way towards what he knew was the infirmary, having to take many of his co-workers here when they have gotten hurt on the job. However, he was here for a slightly different reason. Slowly pulling the door open and stepping inside, closing the door behind himself, he moved further into the room. The moon was giving the room as soft glow from the two windows in the room, which helped him in his search. He quickly found what he was looking for, or rather who, his soft white hair seemed to light up in the glow.

A Yeti, Garnett he believes, was sitting beside the bed, fast asleep. Rolling his eyes, Phil woke her up, pressing a finger to his lips and pointing out the sleeping boy. Raising an eyebrow, she got up. Having worked with him for several years and knowing how close he was to Jack Frost, she didn't need him to tell her that he wanted to take her shift of watching the boy.

Phil quietly sat down where she had been sitting, watching the boy like he expected him to jump up and say this was all a part of a prank, through he knew that Jack knew better and that this situation was really real. _How could anyone hurt him?_ He thought. Startling slightly when her hand landed on his shoulder as he looked back up at Garnett, offering some support. Before she finally left to go to bed herself.

Hesitating for a moment, he reached out to hold Jack's hand that was the closest to him. Not noticing how the light seemed to fall right on them, as if the MiM was taking the time to just sit and watch them. Which wasn't that far from the truth.

* * *

 **Well, that's all for this chapter, I hoped that you guys liked it. And don't worry, the others will come into the picture in the next chapter. Thank you guys so much 3**


	4. Questions

**Chapter Four:** Questions

 **Summary:** When Jack is attacked by the Wendigo, Sandy saves him and takes him to finally meet the other Guardians while he recovers. They also learn more about the other winter spirits that roam the Earth. Takes place before the movie.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Rise of the Guardians or any of the characters within that franchise, but I do own this story and whatever character I make to put into it (though there won't be many of those, so don't worry).**

 **I love big brother Bunny too, which is actually going to be coming up in the chapter most likely. Honestly, I love it in general when the Guardians take the role of family members to him. Everyone needs a family, by blood or not by blood.**

 **Sorry, this chapter took longer than what I was planning to update, I've gotten sick. I still am but I'm trying to keep the pace up, even through I don't really have any set update days (if I did, I would just procrastinate tbh).**

 **Also, I would not mind any helpful advice towards this story or my writing. This story doesn't really have any set plot, just a general idea of where I would like for it to go. The other stories I have planned are more organized for the most part, but I want to finish this story first or at least get a decent bit of it done before I do. It always doesn't help that I got into a writer's block for a bit.**

 **I don't believe that I had mentioned it before, but there will be some cursing.**

 **Another thing that will be further addressed later in the story, is that mainly North and Bunny don't really have a clue to how old Jack is, besides how old he appears to be physically. Toothina has a better idea, more so from the fairies who fangirled (and fanboyed) over his teeth. Sandy has the best idea, due to them meeting almost right after Jack was reborn as a winter spirit.**

* * *

North had stayed with Jack for as long as he was able, if it was any other time of the year he would have been able to stay for much longer. But it wasn't and Christmas was just around the corner and the Yetis, as well as the Elves, were still shaken up from the events of the last few hours.

He could see in the way that more Yetis than what was normal for this part of the workshop have walked past the open door, taking glances at the boy in what they probably thought were inconspicuous (they weren't). The number of Yetis who had made several different reasons and excuses as to why they had to come into the Infirmary, despite how the room usually saw only a few Yetis a week around this time of year, which was mainly due to the Elves, since this was when they normally around the time they began to "make" toys. So far there has been nine Yetis claiming to have gotten hurt or that they were getting sick, one Yeti even came in claiming to have cut himself while building a doll house, which turned out just to be red paint on his fur. This wasn't counting all the ones updating North on things that were always included in on a report that was told to him by Esme and Arthur at the end of every week, though if there was anything more urgent, he would be told when he went on his rounds every day. However, these updates were nothing that would require his immediate attention.

Even the Elves have been acting in this manner, though they knew absolutely nothing about being discreet. Several were peeking around the doorway to the room, while a few were brave enough to venture further into the room, becoming even more under boot than normal. There have already been three Yetis who have tripped over them at some point. He had to keep shooing them off the boy's bed, as a stray elf would find its way up the moment he turned his attention away from the child. After all, that is what the spirit was, an immortal one, but still a child in the end. A child that his workers and Sandy obviously cared for, the Elves even tried to give Jack their cookies! They never did that, whether the person they were offering to were conscious or unconscious. He really needed to ask them how they knew the boy so well while he couldn't remember a time before this point where he had met him.

Sighing, North pulled the thin blanket higher up. Between the Yetis with all their fur and the boy being a winter spirit, there wasn't really a need for the thicker blankets that he and the other Guardians used whenever they came over (especially Bunny, he had a running bet with a few of the Yetis over how blankets he would use each time he came over, which was why they had the Elves give him the thinner blankets, but he didn't need to know that). Not for the first time today did he wonder who, or even _what_ , did this to him. He looked so small and frail wrapped in bandages and surrounded by pillows on the bed that was build for the much larger Yetis and himself, he could only imagine how the boy would look on one of the guest beds that were designed for comfort and not for medical reasons. Whatever did it, he would have nightmares without a doubt. Even North himself would have them, Pitch or no Pitch.

He stretched as he stood up, his back cracking in protest. He refused to believe in Bunny's claims that he was getting up in his age, he was immortal! Bunny was also much older than himself too. So, North just blamed it on the fact he had been sitting in the same position for several hours, as well as wrestling with some of the Elves. It had gotten to the point that he had some of loitering Yetis shoo them away before having them finally close the door.

Reaching down, he picked up his well-worn sketchbook from the nightstand that sat between the bed and where he had been sitting. Stroking a thumb down it's red spine, noting how it was beginning to become worn down and would probably fall apart sooner or later (though sooner was much more likely to be the case her), absently North flipped to a page that he had bookmarked with a scrap of wrapping paper that somehow made its way into here. The boy, Jack, needed a room since he obviously would be staying here for a while. The pages he had opened to were filled with designs and notes for changing one of his guest rooms into a room fit not only for a winter spirit, but also for a teenager. There was plenty of things around the Workshop that should keep him occupied, through with all the stories from Bunny about him being a trickster he would need to come up with ways to combat that to some extent needed to be made if that turns out to be true. Through that shouldn't be a problem for the first week give or take, since the injuries he was sustained would need longer than that to heal.

 _Would winter spirits even like a bed filled with pillows and soft sheets? Or would they prefer their bed to be covered in snow and ice? Would the cold help him to heal faster?_ He decided that not only did he need to speak to the Yetis about how they knew the boy, but also how one should care for him? North was technically a winter spirit in a way, since his holiday fell within the season, much like how since Bunny's holiday fell in spring for the most part, he was considered a spring spirit. However, that did not mean that either or them had much interaction with other spirits of their seasons, besides their workers of course. They barely even spoke to one another ever often now that he thought about it. Making a side note about addressing that problem later, as the one that lay before him was much more urgent. The Yetis and the books within his library seemed like the best bet.

Peering down at the child, he pushed some of the hair away from his pale face, though to be fair, he wasn't quite sure what shade he was supposed to be. He could only guess that he was paler than normal, considering how dull and tired he looked, the bags under his eyes still present despite the sweet dream that Sandy had crafted for him. Even with the window open, was the child still too warm? Shaking his head, aggressively running his hand through his graying hair, the other still clutching his book in the other. The book slipping from his grasp as the spine finally gave away, sending pages upon pages of his sketches and notes across the floor. "Трахните луну!" At the loud curse, North slapped a hand over his mouth, hurryingly checking that Jack was still asleep and oblivious to the world around him, relaxing slightly when he saw that he was.

North was not out of the clear for his slip up though, as Garnett stood in the now open doorway, having opening it when he had dropped his sketchbook. She gasped, catching his attention. Turning around, his eyes widening at the sight of her. Garnett's wrath was almost on the level of Toothina's when she had gone in full protective mother mode, which was saying something. " _How could you curse in front of a child?! He might be sleeping this time, but what if he wasn't? What do you have to say for yourself?"_ She kept her voice to a whisper yell, something North still figured out how she and many of the other Yetis had figured out.

Taking a step back, wincing when he stepped on one of his sketches, glancing down he saw that it was one of the ones for a flying toy train he had been trying to figure out how to make it work for the past few months. He bit his lip to hold back any other curse that might slip. "I am sorry, but he is still asleep, no?" He gestured towards the still sleeping boy, who was still deep asleep in the realm of dreams, the sand above his head depicting him playing with some other children ice skating on a frozen pond.

Garnett huffed in front of him, having moved further into the room. With her hands on her hips, she shot North an unimpressed look. Suddenly the ground seemed much more interesting all of the sudden to him. Missing her eye roll, he remembered the pages that littered the floor. Kneeling down he started the tedious project of picking them all up, ignoring how she was staring him down like Bunny did when one of the Elves had just spilled his paints all over the floor and in his fur. Suddenly he was being pulled up by his arm, causing him to jump at the unexpected action. Tearing his attention away from the papers, he looked up to see that it was Garnett who was pulling him to his feet.

"What is the matter?" North asked confused. Yes, he had cursed in front of the boy (a boy who was at least over 100 years old, maybe more, so he had definitely had heard cursing worse than what he had said, but he knew that wouldn't help his case any, so he kept his mouth shut on that) and he was planning on leaving from his watch after getting a Yeti to replace him, but it wasn't anything major. No warrant for how she was now practically shoving out of the Infirmary, which still had one of the double doors wide open from when she had come in.

Garnett just huffed and continued on, not answering his question. Clenching the papers in his hands, looking back at Jack and all the papers still spread out all over the floors. Seeing this, Garnett took a quick glance back, " _I'll get them after you leave and you can see him again later, I promise. You need to get back to work now, Sir."_ Now at the entrance way, she gave him one last shove into the hallway, closing the door behind him just as finished talking. Leaving a confused Santa alone in a hallway that had Yetis lingering around, who felt when they saw him, knowing that they should be working. No one wanted to be caught be their boss doing something they weren't suppose to be doing, the boss being the famous Santa Claus or not.

Running his hand down his long beard, he contemplated Garnett's actions for a minute, before a grin broke across his face. She obviously wanted to spend time with the injured boy and took a more direct approach of doing so than any of her other coworkers. He really needed to ask about how they knew him. He really did.

* * *

A bright red train hustled by North, chugging along the track that was suspended over his head even when the big man was standing up at his full height. Scattered over his desk were his sketchbook papers that had been given to him about a half hour ago. Next to them was a bookbinding needle, strong thread, and an awl among other items. Page by page, North worked to piece his book back together, at least the pages that already had work on them. The other pages where going to be used later, perhaps to make another book, he wasn't sure yet. Maybe the boy would like to draw? It would at least keep him occupied for a bit at least.

It's been almost forty-five minutes give or take since he was kicked out of the Infirmary. As soon as he was out, he had been rushed by several different reasons, all related to work and some pertaining to the boy's condition, even the Elves were clinging to his legs. He was only away for five hours, he had been away for longer than that without them rushing him like they were know. It wasn't even November yet! It had taken him about another half hour to get all their needs and concerns sorted, through he could tell more were worried as well, through they didn't go up to him like the others had. Tired, he retired to his office to get some peace, resolving to get all his answers answered and to go hunting in his library for another more information on winter spirits.

He had been planning on doing so after he had finished with binding all his fallen sketchbook pages together, but the image of Jack beaten body that was practically stained red all over him, his back clawed open in a way that suggested that whatever had done this had large claws, far bigger than any other animal he knew to be walking open the Earth at the moment. The cuts being clean, meaning their claws were extremely sharp, but not clean enough to have been done by a blade. It almost reminded him of that one hero that the kids these days liked, Wolf-something? No, that wasn't it. Eh, he'll figure it out later if he got the chance.

North set his project down, resting his face in his palms. Forcing the nausea back, no matter what he did, his thoughts still strayed back to the little spirit. Even though the child was immortal, his instincts flared up to protect the child. Already had he gotten some Yetis to start on a room for the boy, as well as planned several things to keep him occupied and to get some clothes done up for him, which he hadn't had the chance to get started on, though he was pretty sure the Yetis were already on top of that so he wasn't too worried. His clothes were completely ruined, barely holding on together in pieces and he was sure if they tried to scrub the blood out, it would only be that finally push in it becoming more like scraps of fabric than anything resembling clothes. Plus, in order to get his sweatshirt off in order to get to the wounds on his back, they had to cut it off. North was pretty shocked to see how old the boy's shirt was in combination with his pants, they must have been at least a century old if not more than that. The boy's ice must have been the main component in why they were even in holding together still. It made North wonder what his normal life is like on a day to day basis and if he even had a real home to call his own.

A knock on his door broke him from his thoughts, sitting up straighter, he answered them back with a warm, "Hello! Please have a seat." It was important to keep his mood up around them, he wouldn't want to make them more stressed than they already were, from Christmas getting nearer and nearer, the Elves (though they were pretty much used to them, but everyone had their limits), and now the events of the past day. The two Yetis that came in definitely needed the cheering up, as they shuffled slowly in, one closing the door, both fidgeting and sharing glances with one another. Only one of the two had taken the offer to sit, the other still standing beside the chair he was supposed to be sitting in. It set North on edge instantly, through he tried his best not to show it too much, but he knew whatever they told him was not going to be good news, especially when he realized that these two were apart of the medical team from earlier. "What is wrong my friends? Did something happen?"

Several moments had passed before the one that was still standing, Eli, quietly pulled a white stick out from behind his back and placed it in front of his boss. " _T-This was the arrow that had struck Jack in the leg…"_ He trailed off, messing with the fur on his other arm now that it wasn't behind his back anymore.

Frowning, North examined the arrow and realized that yes, it was the arrow that was stuck in the boy's leg when he had first arrived with Sandy on his dream cloud. The dried blood from him was still staining the top of the crude arrow. He also noticed that the arrow wasn't some sorta of white stick, but something else entirely. It took him a minute before he realized what it, the color in his face quickly leaving, "Is this….?"

Eli nodded, " _It is bone…a human bone…"_ North leaned away from the arrow, neither of the Yetis seemed too keen on being near it either.

The other Yeti, Adam, handed over a book to North, a few pages marked, though one had a bigger bookmark than the other. Turning it over to see the name, he saw that it was a book on winter spirits and creatures that was planning on going through later, but apparently his Yetis were already a step ahead of him, which was pretty normal at times to be perfectly honest. " _Open it up where that big red marker is…"_ Adam clenched the arms of his chair, shifting again and again.

North wasn't so sure anymore that he wanted to open that marker just yet, but he realized that would have to sooner or later from their unsettled nerves. So why not just do it and get it with now?

Slowly, he opened up to that page, his face paling even further as his stomach dropped like it had suddenly became a boulder and sank as he got an eyeful of what this creature looked like that had them looking like they wanted to hide in a closet and take Jack with them. He knew the Yetis knew their creatures, but could they really be right about… this one?

"The Wendigo?"

* * *

 **I'm sorry if this chapter is a bit short, I figured it was better to at least get something out and this seemed like a perfect place to stop for now.**

 **Thank you continuing to read this story.**


	5. A Meeting of Sorts

**Chapter Five:** A Meeting of Sorts

 **Summary:** When Jack is attacked by the Wendigo, Sandy saves him and takes him to finally meet the other Guardians while he recovers. They also learn more about the other winter spirits that roam the Earth. Takes place before the movie.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Rise of the Guardians or any of the characters within that franchise, but I do own this story and whatever character I make to put into it (though there won't be many of those, so don't worry).**

 **Hopefully I portray the other Guardians right, they were actually the reason why this chapter wasn't up sooner. Bunny being the hardest. I didn't expect Tooth to be difficult either, but oh well. I'll get used to writing them as I go on, any advice would help as long as it's constructive.**

 **I would also like to thank everyone who liked, followed, and reviewed this story. It means so much to me and I can't thank you guys enough.**

* * *

Previously:

 _Eli nodded, "_ It is bone…a human bone… _" North leaned away from the arrow, neither of the Yetis seemed too keen on being near it either._

 _The other Yeti, Adam, handed over a book to North, a few pages marked, though one had a bigger bookmark than the other. Turning it over to see the name, he saw that it was a book on winter spirits and creatures that was planning on going through later, but apparently his Yetis were already a step ahead of him, which was pretty normal at times to be perfectly honest. "_ Open it up where that big red marker is… _" Adam clenched the arms of his chair, shifting again and again._

 _North wasn't so sure anymore that he wanted to open that marker just yet, but he realized that would have to sooner or later from their unsettled nerves. So why not just do it and get it with now?_

 _Slowly, he opened up to that page, his face paling even further as his stomach dropped like it had suddenly became a boulder and sank as he got an eyeful of what this creature looked like that had them looking like they wanted to hide in a closet and take Jack with them. He knew the Yetis knew their creatures, but could they really be right about… this one?_

" _The Wendigo?"_

* * *

The boy was still unconscious, which wasn't surprising all things considering. North had migrated back to the room after finding that he was unable to sleep. The conversation from earlier in the day replying over and over again in his head, making a rest a ridiculous concept. He couldn't focus on toy making either. So, he had spent his time in the large library that he had been adding to for centuries, at this point he was pretty sure he had almost every book there was, though he wouldn't be surprised if there were some books that escaped him. It was mainly here to help create inspiration for new designs and for help if anything ever came up that the Guardians might need. He was glad for that forethought as it was definitely coming in handy now.

After he had read the book that Eli and Adam had brought to him, he went in search for any other books that he had that would shed more light on what exactly the Wendigo was. Though it became clear that the book that they gave him had the most information on it, which wasn't much to be honest. The arrow and the injuries that the boy had sustained all pointed more and more towards the beast. All he needed was for Sandy to give him the location of where he had found him, but he was hesitant to do so. He was sure that his answer would confirm the fact not only it was real but also that the boy had been attacked by it, it was miracle that he got out with his life and not worse for wear than he already was. The one thing all the books all agreed on for a fact is that if the Wendigo had someone as a target, that person was as good as dead. He was sure that it was only due to the fact that not only was the boy a winter spirit, but he could also fly.

What unsettled him more was the fact that none of the books agreed whether or not if there was just one of these beasts or if there was just one, so far, they were learning more towards there being just one, and also that he wasn't the only malicious winter spirit (though the Wendigo was definitely at the top of the lists of which ones to avoid). It seemed as if his Yetis (as well as their cousins the Saumen Kar), Elves, himself, as well as Jack and this fellow who went by Barbegazi, followed by a handful of other winter spirits like Old Man Winter (to some extent of course), were among the few who were benevolent. Of course, he had known that most winter spirits preferred to stick among themselves or just liked to be alone in general and that some took joy in harming others, but outside the Guardians and other holiday spirits and the like, he had stayed mostly to himself with the Yetis and Elves, barely ever leaving the Pole except for Christmas. It seemed that more of the malicious ones had either appeared or had become more a threat during that time. The Ijiraq, Yuki-Onna, as well as a few others were definitely going to need more checking later, especially with their interest in children.

It made North wonder whether or not Jack had ever come across any of those spirits before in his wanderings before, it would actually be pretty unusual if he hadn't given that his job was to help spread winter around the world to places that needed it. How had the boy even managed to deal with them when he finally did meet them? From what he knew of him, Jack preferred to play with children, creating snowball fights, crazy sled rides, and pranks among other things, even if they couldn't see him. It was a lot more understandable now why that was, even more so when one counted in the fact that most spirits did their best to stay away from and ignore winter spirits.

As he watched, he contemplated the young spirit before him, who still had Phil sitting next to him asleep, between the door and the bed where the child laid, but who still had a grip on his arm as if to make sure Jack wouldn't disappear. Phil only acted this protectively over other members of the security team, North himself, his family, and just generally over anyone he cared for enormously. He had been given a brief explanation by Eli about how the boy often visited and after he tried breaking in a few times (which he never managed to do besides how sometimes he got through a window but never farther he assured him) they offered to keep him company and play with him as long as he stopped. Apparently, Jack had taken the offer to heart and put a halt to his attempts, always making sure to avoid coming over around Christmas, which they appreciated, but they loved to have him over right after the holiday to have a miniature feast for him, with presents (even with being on the top of the naughty list for decades) and everything. Though they admitted that even though overall, he was good, he still got up to mischief with the Elves (that part answered his question of how some of the pranks that the Elves pulled seemed like a miniature feat for beings who thought sticking a fork in an outlet was a good idea).

At the thought of that, his shoulders slumped, rubbing his face as a tired sigh escaped him. _How could I have not noticed him? He was so close the whole time…_ guilt panged deep in his stomach. He knew there was no use in wallowing in the past, but it was another thing to actually not do just that. He had missed so many things all because he cooped himself up in his palace, losing himself in his work. When was the last time he and the other Guardians have gotten together besides the annual New Years Party? Even then they had stopped having the Christmas Party they used to always have, as they got caught up in the same predicament as him. It was about time they put a stop to this habit before it caused any further damage.

Besides, he still needed to talk with Bunny as well as Sandy about the boy, and he needed Tooth as well so that they could have proper meeting about everything he had come across.

He turned his gaze away from Jack, focusing out the window to where the moon was sitting in the slowly brightening sky, "What are we going to do Manny?"

Quieter than a man North's size should be able to be, he walked to the closet and pulled a blanket similar to the one the boy was using, he carefully covered up Phil much like how he did to the children who had fallen asleep while trying to stay awake to see him. Checking to make sure Jack was comfortable, he left, closing the door softly behind him, but not before taking one last glance at the two, a smile spreading across his face. He needed to remember to ask Ray to take a picture or two before either one of them woke up.

Now he needed to call a meeting.

* * *

The front door slammed open, along with both a biting wind, and with it a shivering Bunnymund. In a flash he had dashed from the entranceway to the lit fire, the Yetis nearest to the doors rolling their eyes as they shut the door behind him, used to this behavior by this point.

"I still don't see why you won't let me open a tunnel here, ya gumby." He grumbled from where he crouched in front of the fireplace, seeming to be trying to set his fur on fire from how close he was to it. "Why did ya even call for us, anyways?"

North let out a sigh, "wait for the others first, then I will explain."

Bunny shrugged, going back to rubbing his paws together in an attempt to warm up. He continued this until he was forced to back up by a scolding Garnett. Not that he understood what she was saying, but he got the hint when she physically pulled him away from it and from her gesturing, before at least three of the thin blankets were shoved at him, which he grateful took.

The Russian muffled a chuckle behind his hand, as Garnett huffed as she passed him, mumbling about stupid rabbits and fire, not needing to get yelled at again within 24 hours. He tried to keep the scoldings to only three each week thank you very much, though he had a feeling that was going to dramatically increase during the winter spirit's stay.

A few more minutes passed before Tooth came busting in through one of the windows above the Globe Room, along with several of her small fairies, soon followed by Sandy in a plane made of Dreamsand. She continued directing them, even as she said a brief hello, though North knew that she was still half focusing on him and the others despite this. Bunny finally hopped away from the fire, over towards the center of the room where they had all gathered. Sandy was throwing him worried look, a question mark above his head. It was obvious what he was asking about, considering that he had just dropped Jack Frost at the Pole barely even a day ago.

Bunny, on the other hand, interpreted his question a bit differently, not having the prior knowledge to the situation, "I'm with Sandy, why did you call us here?" Impatient to go back to the warmth of his Warren, he could have sworn that the Pole was normally warmer than this.

Finally putting most of her focus on them, "It has to be something important, especially when Christmas is only a few months away. Right, North?"

Seeing as how he had their eyes on him, he couldn't help but feel his previous cheer fade when he recalled the topic of the meeting. Turning on his heel, he motioned for them to follow him, "come my friends, there is much to discuss." He missed the looks that the others had exchanged before they started after him. Normally he would have them go to one of the many sitting rooms that the Pole had when he felt there was something that needed to be talked about (which when he did decide that, usually what he wanted to speak about wasn't anything serious to be fair, it was normally to show off a new gadget he thought was particularly impressive), but they couldn't recall there being any the way that North was heading. Sandy was growing more and more concerned, this had to be about Jack. He wouldn't have called him back so soon if it wasn't about him unless it was about Pitch and it couldn't have been about him… could it?

North paused when he had reached two large ornate double doors, almost causing Sandy to fly straight into his back, as he had been the one to have been following him the closest. Luckily, he was able to stop in time. However, the big man didn't seem to have noticed what had almost occurred, as he threw open the doors, revealing that he had taken them to the library. Bunny raised an eyebrow, "you called us here so that you can read us a story?"

The Russian glanced back, frowning, "why would I do that? You all have libraries." _Why would they think that?_ Bunny meanwhile, just rolled his eyes, mumbling something about how he had been hit in the head too many times by one of his toys.

They all stopped again, completely this time, when North had all gathered them around one of the many tables within the room. Books were scattered all across the table. Bunny narrowed his eyes, picking up one of them, he read the name of it out loud, "' _The Hidden Folk: Facts and Information About Winter Creatures and Spirits_ '." Glancing around at all the other books, it became apparent to all of them that North had pulled out just about every book he had that dealt with the same topic of the first one that he had pulled out of the pile.

Tooth, who had been quietly giving out orders to her fairies, furrowed her brows, she considered herself at least a little knowledgeable about spirits in general. Well technically her fairies knew more about them than she did, considering that they were the ones out in the field collecting teeth and leaving presents for the children. And, it didn't happen too often thankfully, she would pause to comfort and take care of the few who had became injured at the hands of a malicious spirit, a fair bit of them being winter spirits. But the amounts of injures always died down when they changed their routes so that they would not have to go through their territories, even if it made the route a bit longer. What had they done now that was big enough to have caught North's attention?

She turned towards where North was at the head of the table, seeming to be looking for something underneath all these books, not noticing Sandy and how he froze when he realized what the books were about. Fidgeting, he glanced in the direction that he knew Jack was, his need to check on the boy growing. He could still feel the tug of his Dreamsand, so he knew that the boy was still asleep. Nothing seemed to be wrong from him, judging by his dream that had changed to him playing with some of the Yetis, but his Dreamsand couldn't tell everything unfortunately. Trying to distract himself, he grabbed one of the books from the table.

"Where is it… It should be here…" Scratching his head, he straightened up. He snapped his fingers, "I know, it is in office. I'll be right back." He hurried over to the door, leaning out, he called for a Yeti. Even with his hearing, Bunny wasn't able to make out what they were saying to each other. Though it wasn't like he would have been able to understand the other half of the conversation besides what North was saying. He really needed to get around to learning Yetish. Soon enough North was heading back to the table, "they will grab it, but now I need to ask something to you Sandy. It is very important."

Sandy pulled himself away from examining the book he had picked up, nodding at him to show that he had his full attention. "When you picked up Jack, wher-"

"Jack? What are you talking about?" Bunny interrupted. His eyes narrowing, it better not be who he was thinking of.

"Jack Frost, Sandy brought hi-"

Bunny slammed his fist down on the table, not paying attention to the fact that in the process of doing so, he knocked several books off the table and startled most of Tooth's fairies, "you brought us all the way here for that bloody bludger?!" Ignoring the way that Tooth gasped and how North tried to get another word in. "I don't even know what's running through your head to even let him in here this close to Christmas, you remember what happened Easter '68! Or is that why you need us here now?" He opened his mouth to say more, but before he had the chance to say another word, Dreamsand wrapped around his mouth, stopping him from going on. Sandy suddenly in face, the sand above his head flashing too quickly for anyone to understand, though is obvious to everyone that he was furious. Once he was sure that Bunny wouldn't say anything else, he let the sand fall away, but it didn't stop him from continuing his rant.

Never seeing the normally docile man this angry before, it had caused all of them to become frozen in shock. Snapping out of it first, North carefully placed his hand on Sandy's shoulder, "Where did you find him, my friend? You can yell more at Bunny later." Bunny shot North a somewhat terrified look at that, he _did not_ want to be on the receiving end Sandy's fury anymore than he was now. Taking a deep breath, Sandy finally backed away from him, but not before shooting him a glare that made him want to hide underneath the table.

He was still working on calming down as he floated back to where he had been at before Bunny had started on his rant, he couldn't help but to notice how North seemed to have this strange look on his face, making him sure that North already knew what he was going to say, but still asked anyways. Hesitating slightly, he made an image of Canada, with an arrow that roughly pointed to an area between Newfoundland and Quebec. Furrowing his brows as he saw North's face fall, "I was hoping you wouldn't say that."

"North, what's going on? What does this have to do with Jack?" Tooth cautiously asked, holding back on her excitement of possibly meeting Jack Frost. Her fairies went on and on about how his teeth were white like freshly fallen snow. Something wasn't right here and it seemed that the others shared the same sentiment, even Bunny.

Before North could answer, a Yeti had pushed open one of the large doors. Stepping inside, he walked rather quickly over towards where his boss stood, caring something behind his back that seemed to be wrapped up a dull brown cloth. "Ah Eli, there you are," North met him just as he had reached the table, taking the object that was now being offered to him hurriedly, like the Yeti couldn't stand to be touching it even through the clothes. Tooth fluttered a little high, trying to see if she could catch a glimpse of it, only seeing something white peeking out from where cloth had slid a little when North took it. Other than that, she still had as much of a clue as anyone else besides a suspicious Sandman. Grumbling something a bit more to each other, the Yeti, Eli, took his leave, closing the door behind himself.

North turned back around to face them, sitting what was in his hands down on the table in front of them. "The other day Sandy had come to Pole with an injured Jack Frost. The Yetis did their best to take care of them and he is stable, but the wounds will probably scar. He had been attacked by someone, or rather something, I still don't really know what to call it still. One of the injures that he had acquired was done by an arrow. Later some of my Yetis, one of them being the one that had just came in, came into my office. They had recognized who had made the arrow," he pulled the cloth away with a grimace, revealing a white arrow that was obviously made by hand, one end still had something that was dark red on it, which they immediately knew was blood. "They also had a book with them to show me."

Reaching over Bunny, he grabbed one of the books off of the center of the table, turning it to a page, marked with a red marker. Once more, he hesitated before opening it to the page that had kept him up the night before.

* * *

 **I wanted to stop here since it was getting pretty long, especially in comparison to some of the others in this story. If I went any further, it would have became much longer since I couldn't see any places I would have been able to stop at without it sounding like I copied the ending to Chapter Four.**

 **Also thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far and I'll try to reply back as much as I am able, whether it's directly or indirectly.**

 **Sparklehannah: I plan on putting Scarlett into the story more often from this point on, she was actually just a spur-of-the-moment character to be honest. I also plan on having a decent amount of different point-of-views too, especially from characters like North's Yetis and Tooth's fairies as well. Sandy is a very old character, I doubt much would get past him since he travels the world every single night and day. He would be very wise. And yes, they are very overprotective of Jack, as well as some other characters as well. He is also going to gain some more overprotective friends soon as well. He really doesn't realize just how much he is loved and cherished.**

 **MOMOtheDOMO and Aekidna: Thank you so much for all of your love and support.**

 **GirlFish: The next chapter after this one would be more about how they react to the news of the Wendigo, so you don't have to wait much longer. In general, almost all of the winter spirits and creatures that I have looked up for this story (as well as the ones I have learned about over the years) are not very kind creatures, I actually think I may have found one worse than the Wendigo, but that's for another time.**

 **Iloveanimals: Me too!**

* * *

 **Information Time!**

 **I realized that I didn't put the information for Yuki-Onna here before, so I'll do it now while I do the others that I have mentioned in this chapter.**

 **Yuki-Onna:**

[ "Yuki-onna appears on snowy nights as a tall, beautiful woman with long black hair and blue lips. Her inhumanly pale or even transparent skin makes her blend into the snowy landscape (as famously described in Lafcadio Hearn's Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things). She sometimes wears a white kimono, but other legends describe her as nude, with only her face and hair standing out against the snow. Despite her inhuman beauty, her eyes can strike terror into mortals. She floats across the snow, leaving no footprints (in fact, some tales say she has no feet, a feature of many Japanese ghosts), and she can transform into a cloud of mist or snow if threatened.

Some legends say the Yuki-onna, being associated with winter and snowstorms, is the spirit of someone who perished in the snow. She is at the same time beautiful and serene, yet ruthless in killing unsuspecting mortals."

-From the Yuki-Onna wikia page.]

["In the Ina region of Nagano Prefecture, Yuki-onna is called "yukionba," and it is believed that they would appear on a snowy night in the form of a yama-uba. Similarly, in Yoshida, Ehime Prefecture, on a night when snow is accumulating on the ground, a "yukinba" is said to appear, and people would make sure not to let their children outside. Also, in the Tōno region of Iwate Prefecture, and on Little New Year (koshōgatsu) or the 15th day of the first month, a yuki-onna would take many children along to a field to play, so children were warned against going outside. It can be thus seen that yuki-onna are often considered the same as the yama-uba, sharing the similarity that they are fecund and take many children along with them."

-From the Yuki-onna Wikipedia page.]

 **Saumen Kar:**

["They come to us, once again, by way of the Inuit, and translates roughly into "Man of Snow." Ok, so this is sort of a yeti, but at the same time, they are very un-yeti like. Saumen kar (shō'men kahr) are seven-foot tall creatures covered in white fur, often said to have twisted, black horns, and a ferocity matched only by their wisdom. They are nomadic creatures that prefer to remain isolated, but spend a great deal of time observing human life, and telling stories about humans to each other. They do not tend to eat people, but rather hunt and fish, and regard the land with reverence. Saumen kar are willing to interact with the spiritual or wise members of human groups, and communicate with them using powerful telepathy. They use this same psychic aptitude to keep their presence a secret, causing creatures to stay away or forget they encountered them. If a saumen kar becomes angry, they can fly into terrifying rages, but telling them stories calms them down. While these dudes are certainly a close relative of the yeti, the fact they are story-loving, nature-worshiping psychics should set them apart."

-From the "6 WINTERY MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURES THAT AREN'T YETIS AND GIANTS" page on Tribality.]

 **Old Man Winter:**

["Old Man Winter is a personification of winter. The name is a colloquialism for the winter season derived from ancient Greek mythology and Old World pagan beliefs evolving into modern characters in both literature and popular culture." (Side Note: "Ded Moroz, Russian name for 'Old Man Frost'." It also mentions this about Jack, "Jack Frost, personification of frost, ice, snow, sleet, winter and freezing cold."

-From the Old Man Winter Wikipedia page.]

 **Barbegazi:**

["The next strange winter creature is a friendly one, coming our way via French-Swiss mythology. The barbegazi – from the French barbe-glacée which translates to "frozen beard" – are small humanoid creatures with great beards and oversized feet. They travel around by using their feet as skis to zoom around the mountains, though they can also be used as snowshoes if the conditions call for it. During the warmer months, they return to deep tunnels within the mountains and aestivate (like hibernate, but for the summer). Barbegazi generally remain unseen by most, as their habitat doesn't typically lend itself for much interaction. That doesn't stop them from liking people and helping them out, however. They help find animals that become lost, particularly sheep that wander from the flock, and they are always on the lookout for avalanches. If one is imminent, the barbegazi lets out a sharp whistle as warning… and surfs around on the avalanche with their clodhoppers. Further, if someone is trapped in the snow, the barbegazi will often do their best to help dig out the individual, or ensure they receive help."

-From the "6 WINTERY MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURES THAT AREN'T YETIS AND GIANTS" page on Tribality.]

 **Ijiraq:**

These are the beings that I put on par with the Wendigo, as they are both on the level of "Stay the Heck Away from and Avoid at All Cost". They both have flaws and strengths that keep them even with each other and apparently there is another creature like the Ijiraq, but that's for another time.

["The ijiraq is a shapeshifter-shadow person capable of taking whatever form it desires. Of course, their natural form is similar to that of a human, only their eyes and mouths are sideways, with their eyes glowing a malevolent red. Ijirait (plural) kidnap children and lead people fatally astray. They are only seen out of the corner of your eye, and cannot be seen if you are looking at them directly. They neither inhabit this world, nor are they quite outside of it, existing in two worlds at once. Legend has them as people who went too far north, and became trapped between the world of the living and the dead. The home of the Ijirait is a cursed land, causing even the most skilled of travelers to become lost, creating mirages that cause people to become increasingly turned around and panicked. Even if you survive an encounter with them, you will have no memory of it, as they cause forgetfulness to those they let live. Irjirait are generally considered evil, malicious, and to be avoided at all costs."

-From the "6 WINTERY MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURES THAT AREN'T YETIS AND GIANTS" page on Tribality.]

 **I would have put the Wendigo on this fact list, but in that case, it's easier to look it up, since they're so many different facts on several different sources. But besides what I already have down on the creature, I plan on adding to in the actual story, so I hope that works too.**

 **I hope I didn't bore any of you with this information dump, but it let's you get a better idea of winter spirits and it's easier for me to just put down the information that I have already found. But yeah, winter creatures normally range from Yuki-Onna to the Wendigo.**


	6. Chapter 6

I tried to continue this on and add at least another chapter, but I really have no idea where I'm going with this story, as I started it without a end in mind, just a beginning. I know this story line has a lot of potential, but I don't think I can give it the justice that it deserves. I do have another chapter idea, but it would only make sense later on in the plot, I'll be glad to sent what I have of it to whoever wants to take this story over.

I'm sorry, I have a ton of other story ideas that I really want to work on that I do have an ending in mind for, but I didn't want to start them until I had this taken care of.

Thank you so much.

\- Schrodinger25


End file.
